Washing machine appliances generally include a tub for containing water or wash liquid, e.g., water and detergent, bleach, and/or other wash additives. A basket is rotatably mounted within the tub and defines a wash chamber for receipt of articles for washing. During normal operation of such washing machine appliances, the wash liquid is directed into the tub and onto articles within the wash chamber of the basket. The basket or an agitation element can rotate at various speeds to agitate articles within the wash chamber, to wring wash fluid from articles within the wash chamber, etc.
During operation of certain washing machine appliances, a volume of wash liquid is directed into the tub in order to wash and/or rinse articles within the wash chamber. One or more fluid additives may be added to the wash liquid to enhance the cleaning or other properties of the wash liquid. The fluid additives may be in powder or concentrated liquid form, and are generally added to a dispenser box of the washing machine appliance by, e.g., a user of the washing machine appliance. The dispenser box may contain various chambers for containing different additives, e.g., wash detergent and softener. Water may be directed into the chambers of the dispenser box through a plurality of water inlet valves to mix with the additives and the resulting wash liquid is then dispensed into the wash chamber.
The volume of water or wash liquid needed may vary depending upon a variety of factors. For example, large loads can require a large volume of water relative to small loads that can require a small volume of water. A user may wish to have additional wash liquid dispensed in order to perform a specific task, e.g., prewash an article of clothing or add additional liquid to accommodate an extra large load. The ability to adjust the amount of water or wash liquid dispensed is a generally commercially desirable feature and increases the user's positive perception of the wash process generally. However, conventional washing machine appliances typically do not have water-on-demand features, and those that do require additional nozzles, hoses, clamps, and other hardware to perform such a function.
Accordingly, a washing machine appliance that provides a user with more control over the water or wash liquid fill amount is desirable. In particular, a dispenser box having a simple, convenient, integrated system for dispensing an additional predetermined amount of wash liquid would be particularly beneficial.